Black Diamond Caterers owners to open Park Side Eatery in Saratoga Springs

The owners of Black Diamond Caterers, Michael and Heidi Hoyt, plan to open Park Side Eatery at 42-44 Phila St. in June and offer both eat-in and take-out food.

The 5,000-square-foot eatery - they're eschewing the term restaurant and the table service that goes with it - will face both Phila Street and Congress Park and have entrances on both sides. In a press release, the Hoyts say Park Side Eatery will have "a comfortable, warehouse look and feel." It will be in the former home of the Saratoga Wine Exchange, which moved to a new location near Exit 11 last June.

The eatery will have tables and offer customers the option to eat there or take food to go, but everything will be ordered from a main counter. The space also will feature an open kitchen visible to customers. "It will fit very well into the neighborhood. We want to be a welcoming stop in the course of someone's day. In addition to people enjoying their food in our seating area we fully expect people to run in and out as they head for home with dinner for the family," Michael Hoyt said. "There's no pretentious table service, there's no protocol," he added.

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Hoyt said there are also plans in the works to add wine and beer to the Park Side Eatery menu.

The Hoyts have operated Black Diamond Caterers for 13 years and spun off a division focused on barbecue, called Adirondack Barbecue, eight years ago. Food from that division - such as pulled pork, ribs and brisket - will be available at Park Side Eatery.

The Hoyts are also planning two new lines of food - one featuring Jewish-style foods like matzo ball soup and house-made corned beef and pastrami, and a bakery line called Glazed Backerei, featuring house-made doughnuts and other baked goods with a German, Austrian and Scandinavian flair.

Hoyt said the catering business has seen "record-breaking growth" over the past three years, particularly the more casual options offered. An office inside Park Side Eatery will allow catering clients a space to meet with staff and plan their events.

Hoyt said he and his wife have been brainstorming Park Side Eatery for about a decade. Their negotiations for another space fell through, but it wasn't long before the Saratoga Wine Exchange space opened up right next door to the Hoyts existing 800-square-foot Black Diamond Caterers space.

They will bring on 22 additional full-time employees for Park Side Eatery. They currently employ 36 part-time employees for their catering businesses.

Park Side Eatery will open in the late morning and stay open until 8 p.m. most nights, Hoyt said.